Last week I drove from close to Ft. Worth, Texas to St. Louis, Missouri in the course of an ice storm to see my brother in the flesh that I had not seen in too long. I made the somewhat treacherous drive because my brother was in the hospital after having all of his toes cut off of his right foot due to a very bad infection. I wanted to be there for him.
Could you imagine how insensitive and wrong it would have been for me to march into his room and exclaim: “Boy, I am sure am glad it was just those insignificant toes!” I am quite confident he was not thinking of this as an insignificant loss he suffered. If we aren’t really careful, we can be that insensitive and degrading to members of the body of Christ.
Paul likens Christians to being different parts of the human body in 1 Corinthians 12. Specifically he mentions the foot, hand, ear and eye. In the context Paul is speaking of the various miraculous gifts that had been bestowed upon various members. The major thrust of his teaching here is that every member provides a valuable function for the benefit of the overall body.
Brethren, we need to be careful of looking at members of the body of Christ today in a very different way than our Lord does. It is true that some seem to be blessed with countless abilities to be used in the service of the church, but never underestimate the contribution of the perceived one talent man. If we are not supremely careful, it is easy to communicate to ordinary Christians that we just don’t have that much need for them.
Let me say two things about that. First, that’s just not true. Everyone has something valuable to offer. And perhaps we should beware of using our secular standards in evaluating the contributions brethren make in the spiritual realm. Secondly, if we deceive ourselves about them being a needed part of the body they will likely sense it at some point and either be convinced you are right or perhaps even walk out of the church not intending to return.
Every member is valuable to the health and growth of the body. Let us esteem one another not on the basis of perceived ability. Let us not look down on the one talent man. Instead, let us be thankful for every member and understand that together we can be the one unified body that the Lord wants us to be.
Daren Schroeder